Last Updated: February 12, 2024, 18:42 IST
The remarks were made by Union Minister Smriti Irani during a press conference where she addressed the unrest in the Sandeshkhali area. (Image/ANI)
“Mamata Banerjee is known for the genocide of Hindus. She will now allow her men to pick young married Hindu women to be raped in the TMC office,” Union Minister Smriti Irani said
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday launched a scathing attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging that she is known for “genocide of Hindus” and would allow her party’s workers to sexually assault Hindu women.
The remarks were made by Union Minister Smriti Irani during a press conference where she addressed the unrest in the Sandeshkhali area over allegations by a group of women claiming TMC strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters captured swathes of land by force and sexually assaulted them.
“Mamata Banerjee is known for the genocide of Hindus. She will now allow her men to pick young married Hindu women to be raped in the TMC office… Who is this man who has been charged by the women of Sandeshkhali of the mass rape of Bengali Hindu women?… Till now everybody has been wondering who is Sheikh Shahjahan. Now, the question Mamata Banerjee has to answer is – where is Sheikh Shahjahan?” Irani said.
#WATCH | On Sandeshkhali violence, Union Minister Smriti Irani says, “Mamata Banerjee is known for the genocide of Hindus. She will now allow her men to pick young married Hindu women to be raped in the TMC office… Who is this man who has been charged by the women of… pic.twitter.com/CBzc0YsZ4S— ANI (@ANI) February 12, 2024
Locals have been demanding the arrest of Shajahan, who has been absconding since last month after a team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that went to raid his house in connection with an alleged ration scam was attacked by a mob of his supporters.
Sandeshkhali women have alleged that Shajahan and his “gang” captured swathes of land by force, besides sexually harassing them.
“In Sandeshkhali, some women narrated their ordeals to the media… They said TMC goons visited door to door to identify the most beautiful woman in every house. Who is young. The husbands of identified women were told, that you might be the husband, but now you have no right on your wife. They would abduct women every night. They didn’t leave us till they were satisfied… These accusations have been made by women of Dalit, ST, fishermen and farmer community of the region,” Union Minister Smriti Irani added.
#WATCH | On Sandeshkhali violence, Union Minister Smriti Irani says, “In Sandeshkhali, some women narrated their ordeals to the media… They said TMC goons visited door to door to identify the most beautiful woman in every house. Who is young. The husbands of identified women… pic.twitter.com/hXARkKp1sj— ANI (@ANI) February 12, 2024
“The question is can we as citizens be mute spectators,” Irani further said, accusing the TMC supremo of trading the dignity of vulnerable communities like scheduled castes and scheduled tribes for “political benefits”.
West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Monday morning arrived in Kolkata from Kerala and left for Sandeshkhali.
Police however, stopped senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari and several other MLAs of the party, from visiting the area, citing the imposition of prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
(With PTI inputs)
